August 06, 2006

3D data capture takes a leap

Veteran engineer Steve Perlman has unveiled Contour, a system for capturing facial details in 3D space. The system goes beyond traditional motion capture methods by covering actors’ faces in phosphorescent powder, then recording their movements from multiple angles. The NYT story features a quick video of the results, and Studio Daily’s got more background on these developments.
Speaking of 3D capture,

Human Eyes offers photographers a system for creating 3D data using off-the-shelf equipment; here’s an example of the output.

Capture devices continue to decrease in size and price. Next Engine’s 3D desktop scanner costs $2,495 and is about the size of a cereal box. [Via]

Microsoft researchers this week unveiled Photosynth, a system for analyzing a large number of 2D photos to generate a 3D fly-through. They depict related research in this video.

Hardware makers continue to step up and deliver hilariously large amounts of processing power, as with this 80 billion pixel-per-second Nvidia expansion unit. (Somewhat of a bummer, the $17k box is not equipped with actual tank treads or a smokestack.)

GPS metadata for the masses? (+ a secret Lightroom feature)

Sony has announced a funky little GPS device that promises to stamp your photos with geographic coordinates. The 2-ounce tracker clips to a belt or backpack & uses image timestamps to know where shots were taken. Looks like a nice step forward, though I’d love to see this capability built right into cameras as a simple, affordable option. [Via Bryan Hughes]
This widget reminds me of a subtle but cool feature of Adobe Lightroom: if your image contains GPS coordinates, you can click the Lightroom Metadata panel to reveal the location via Google Maps. I did a quick screenshot to demonstrate.
And hey, speaking of Lightroom, the Iceland photo squad has posted Gallery 3 of their images.